Light in the Darkness
by Fairytailanimefan
Summary: Mari Liah has been searching out the celestial mage of Fairy Tail for years now, the promise of finding out about her past luring her in. Finding out she was a princess wasn't part of the plan - but then again, neither was falling in love. Laxus x OC Updates on Tuesdays
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue:**

A soft sigh escaped a young princess's lips as she woke from her slumber. Mists of a dream about fairies and dragons played beneath her eyelids, a recurring dream that never failed to put a smile on her face. A soft yawn mewled from her before she opened her bright blue eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, awaiting the clear air to wake the fog from her brain. Instead of fresh air, she was surprised to choke on the scent of sulfur and the taste of ash. Her room reeked of _fire_.

"Mother!" she screamed. The young princess of six was surrounded by heat, her eyes darted wildly in fear. Flames licked underneath her door and her window. A cry escaped her lips. _I need to get out of here,_ she thought to herself. She stumbled out of her bed, her feet tangling in the soft downy blanket.

"Mother! Father!" she cried out, going towards the door. A particularly nasty flame lashed out near her ankles, and she screamed and jumped away. She looked wildly around again, thinking for a different exit. She had a thought. She pulled her slippers on and felt along the wall for the servants entrance. Her tiny fingers found the button, and she softly pressed it into the wall. A tapestry disappeared to reveal a dim, dank corridor. A sob escaped her as a rumble shook the ground beneath her, the air in her room heating substantially. She looked into the darkness again. The servants entrances were not nice, per say, and were rarely used, but the girl had climbed through them many times to go on adventures and such. The air in it was cleaner than in her room, but as she went into it the floor beneath rumbled again. There were loud noises, and she swore they sounded like roars. She closed the entrance behind her and placed a hand on the damp wall. She walked a few paces before collapsing to the floor, sobs of fear escaping quickly from her throat.

"Mother!" she screamed into the corridor ahead. There was no reply. She stood shakily, another sob escaping her. Her soft footsteps padded on the stone floor as she ran into the darkness.

 **Chapter One:**

A sigh bitterly escaped my lips as I tried, again, to attack the mage ahead. She smiled wickedly at me.

"You know, for a freelance, you're pretty strong." she cackled, shooting another strobe of energy at me. I crossed my arms and created a water barrier, my long silver ponytail swishing around my face. As the attack ended, I dropped it.

"I'm just getting started." I muttered. Now things would get serious. I closed my eyes and focused, and magical power burst around me, creating a wind that blew my hair almost straight up. My clothes weren't affected, since I always dressed sleek in case of battle. My tight, long sleeved shirt ended abruptly at the bottom of my chest, exposing my stomach. A tattoo was there, a few lines that branded me. I never really learned what it meant. My mother had put it on me when I was eight. I wore tight black leather pants and black boots adorned my feet. I preferred a monochromatic color scheme. It went well with my hair. My eyes flashed at her smile, the blue brightening for an instant. I felt a smirk play on the corner of my mouth.

"Bring it on, dragon scum." she sneered. And so I attacked.

"Water dragon's roar!" I felt my cheeks puff before expelling a large amount of magic into her chest. She was knocked down. "Water dragon's wing attack!" tendrils of water lashed at a high speed, picking her up and slamming her against a tree. She wiped the side of her mouth, soaked with water, and chuckled.

"Stronger than I thought." she spat out some blood. I watched her stagger to her feet.

"If you give up now, I won't hurt you anymore." I called to her.

"Energy bomb." I heard her mutter as her hand glowed, and she threw a bright globe at me. I punched it out of the air.

"Water dragon's sword horn!" I charged at her. She cried out and fell to the ground, but was knocked out this time. I sighed and walked over to her. I tied her up and threw her over my shoulder, walking back towards the town to receive my reward. This mage was terrorizing the mayor's son for weeks, threatening to kill him unless he would marry her.

Some girls get really desperate, I guess.

I made sure not to be _too_ gentle when I brought her to the jail. I went to the Mayor's house and received a pouch with 10,000 J in it. I smiled, that would be good to have for the next few months. I was tired of sleeping in the forest, I deserved hotel rooms once in awhile.

I cracked my back with a small smile. I was getting close to finishing my search, I could feel it. I tucked my pouch into my bag.

"Yes! I'm all fired up!" was the next thing I heard, and then something incredibly hot smacked into my side and made me go flying. The next thing I knew, I was sprawled underneath something that felt like a heater. The cobblestones beneath me were warm as well, making me feel as if I'd boil over.

"Natsu! What are you doing!" I heard a woman's voice say. It was almost melodic. I groaned and stood up, dumping the warm thing on the ground. I turned and glared down at a pink haired man with a scaly scarf.

"Next time, watch where you're going." I muttered and turned away. My eyes fell upon his companions. A small blue cat with a backpack and a voluptuous blonde woman. "Will he be alright?" I gestured towards the man.

"Um…" she sighed. "He's got a thick skull." a small laugh escaped her lips. "I'm Lucy, and I'm really sorry about Natsu. He's a little dumb."

"I see that. I glanced back down at _Natsu_ , who was now groaning and rubbing his butt. "I'm Mari Liah."

"Oh, that sounds familiar! Were you in Sorcerer Weekly lately?" Lucy asked.

"No."

"O-oh." she smiled again. She must not like silence.

"I'm a freelance mage. I'm not sure where you would have heard of me."

"Aha, so you _are_ a mage! At least I got that part correct."

"Mari Liah sounds familiar to me too. Why can't I think of it!" Natsu chose this moment to speak.

"Were you in a guild at all?" asked Lucy.

"No."

"What about a fisherman!" Natsu decided to say something stupid. A good first impression.

"No."

"Wait a- ah! Wasn't Liah the country that dragons destroyed eleven years ago?" Lucy put her hand on her chin. I tensed. That country….

"Yes." I nodded. "I must have been a distant relative to the family."

"Aye!" the cat shouted. I raised my eyebrow before deducing that the cat could talk.

"Anyways, Natsu! Apologize to her, please." Lucy said.

"There is no need. I should have been paying more attention. I'll be on my way now." I nodded at them before walking the path towards the train station.

"Oi!" I heard Natsu shout. I froze. "Where are you headed?" he asked.

"Magnolia." I replied.

"That's where we are going too!" Lucy smiled again. She was very expressive. "We should go together." she walked over and grabbed my hand. I glanced down to see the pink mark on the back of her hand, and my eyes widened.

"You're a Fairy Tail mage?" I questioned.

"Ah, yes, Natsu and I are both mages." she nodded, shyly taking her hand back.

"Do you by chance know the celestial mage of Fairy Tail?" I asked. Her eyes widened.

"Lucy is the celestial mage!" Natsu laughed, swinging his arm around her shoulder.

"Oh my." I gasped. I swiftly knelt down in front of her, my hands face up towards her. "I have been searching years for you, Lucy." I spoke, not lifting my head.

"U-um, what are you doing? Please stand up, people are looking." she seemed flustered.

"Lucy, I need to speak with you. It is urgent." I pulled my charm bag out of my larger bag and reached inside. "Summoning the key." I held my hand inside. The bag had a special requip charm that would keep anything I put in it in a safe place, but I was the only one who could take it back out. I felt the cool metal touch my palm, and I quickly drew my hand out. I held the key out to her, the black metal glinting. "This is Kuma, the gate of the demon. I need you to summon him for me."

"Wh-what are you talking about?! A black key…. where did you get this?!" she cried.

"Lucy, what does it do?" the cat asked.

"I don't know." she looked up at me.

"Please, come with me." I grabbed her hand before dragging her away.

"Oi! What are you doing!" Natsu grabbed my arm, pulling me away from her. I gasped, his hand was hot. I understood now, he must be the Salamander of Fairy Tail.

"Do not get in my way. I need her." I swatted his hand away before turning back to her.

"Lucy is a person, you can't just make her go with you!" he pulled her away from me.

"Natsu. Do not get it my way." I could feel a magical aura start around me. Natsu was the same.

"Natsu! Stop, don't hurt her!" Lucy cried out.

"Step aside or I will move you." I warned.

"Go ahead." he grinned wolfishly.

"Water dragon's iron fist!" water wrapped itself around my hand before I ran forward and swung. He blocked me with his forearm.

"You're a dragon slayer?" he cried out. My eyes narrowed.

"Don't underestimate me because I'm a woman. Water dragon's sword horn!" my attacks were always concise, only hitting my target and not causing destruction around it. He grunted, but blocked my attack again. He was strong.

"What do you want with Lucy?" he yelled, fire wrapping around his fist.

"I need her! She needs to summon that key for me!" I yelled back. He dropped his fist.

"What's with the key?"

"I don't know. All I know is, that key will tell me who I am!" I shouted.

"But.. You're Mari Liah. We already know who you are." Lucy came forward. I could feel my throat tightening. I wanted to cry, they didn't know.

"When I was small, my mother Aqua found me in the ocean with only the clothes on my back, that key, and a locket around my neck. I have no memory of where I'm from or who my real parents are. The locket had my name inside, but I have never been able to summon the key. I researched it, and found out that it was the Demon Akuma's key, but that is all I know of it. Please, Lucy, help me. I've been searching all my life for you." I bowed again. There was silence, and I felt a tear drip down my cheek.

"Mari." Lucy had come up to me, and she grabbed my shoulders. "Come back to Fairy Tail with us. We can help you." I let a few more tears drop before she wrapped me in her arms. I tentatively hugged back, letting the tears fall as I sobbed. This might be it. I might finally be able to go home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Fairy Tail was a loud guild. As soon as we walked in, there was a ruckus of noise that assaulted my eardrums and made me wince. I could hear it as soon as we stepped off the train, but when the doors actually opened, it made me want to cover my ears.

"Natsu! You're a great guild mate, you always bring the lookers to us!" a drunk man with black hair wobbled over.

"Macao, you're drunk. Go back by Wakaba." Lucy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under her chest with a pout. "The amount of pervy old men in here is astonishing, really." she groaned to me. I gave her a small nod to show I understood, but I wasn't sure she saw me.

"Lu-chan!" a blue haired girl ran up. "I finished reading your latest chapter, and it was absolutely amazing!"

"Ah, thank you Levy-chan!" Lucy beamed to her. "I'm almost done with the next one as well, I'll try to figure out what they're going to do next as soon as possible!"

"Let's hurry up and talk to Gramps! I'm hungry and I wanna eat!" Natsu whined, stretching his arms behind his head.

"Talk to Master? What for?" Levy had a curious twinkle in her eye.

"It's about some keys. I'll tell you about it later." Lucy waved her questions away as if she did it every day. Levy's face turned into a pout, but she quickly found something else to do, because in the next few seconds she was starting to walk away.

"Okay Lu! See you later!" she called out.

"See you, Levy!" Lucy waved to her and turned to Natsu and I. "Master's office is on the second floor."

"Let's go already!" Natsu's whine was perfected, because it got Lucy to move quickly.

"This way!" she called to me, and I followed her and the pink-haired dragon slayer up a set of stairs. On the second floor, I scanned the guild hall below. I took a deep breath and felt magic mingling in the back of my throat. I sensed other dragon slayers, a water mage, an ice mage, and somewhere ahead of me I could sense a great span of magical energy. It must have been the master's, because the closer we got to a door the stronger I could smell it.

"Ah, hello there children. I am Makarov. Who might you be? A new recruit?" a small man asked as we entered the office. He was wearing pointy shoes and an even pointier hat.

"My name is Mari Liah, I'm a water mage. I have this celestial key, and I have searched out Lucy Heartfilia to help me open the gate to learn more about my past." I said, giving the man a slight bow.

"Mari Liah…" he hmmed. "With a black key…. this all seems familiar. Lucy, this key is very special. I think that we should do this now. Open the gate." he said.

"But maste-"

"There is no danger here, child. I am right here for you." he told her. "Now open it. I have some suspicions that I'd like to put to rest."

"Um.. alright." she said. A drop of perspiration appeared on my forehead as I watched her intently. She squared her shoulders with a determined look in her stunning eyes. "Open, gate of the demon! Akuma!" she called, turning it in the air. A shadow slithered along the floor, sucking up all of the light in the room. The wall sconces flickered until they went out. We were almost in total darkness. I clenched my fist, prepared for the worst. A small gasp escaped from my mouth as a man appeared from the shadow. His skin was white as snow, and his hair was black as night. It fell straight down his back. Red eyes and sharp teeth were the only distinguishable features in the dim light. A wicked smile flashed, his teeth almost fanglike.

"Ah, it's been almost eleven years since I was summoned." the spirit grinned and stretched out a kink in his neck. "I am the gate of the demon, Akuma." he turned to Lucy. "To whom do I owe my thanks from freeing me from my hell?"

"Lucy Heartfilia." she gave him a small smile, holding her hand out for him to shake. He left it hanging in the air and bowed instead. He looked to the master, his smirk never falling, until his eyes landed on me. The midnight pupils in the middle of his blood red irises almost disappeared.

"Princess!" a gasp fell from his mouth.

"Princess…?" Lucy frowned.

"Just as I suspected." Makarov frowned. "Mari Liah. The name of the youngest princess in Liah. The whole country was burned to ashes before many people in Fiore had learned of her birth. The king and queen sheltered their children until they were able to make their debut..The first prince had just been shown in public when Liah was destroyed. Almost no one from the country survived it.

There was a story that the young princess Mari had lived on. An old sea witch spread the news with the survivors of the fire. They were not sure if they could trust the witch, but nobody knew where the princess was. Unfortunately, no one had the thought to actually search for her, since there was no need for a Princess in Liah now that there was no kingdom. But now, she's appeared in my office! This is amazing!" Makarov hopped onto the desk with a laugh.

"Princess. I have more on the subject." Akuma spoke up. I blinked.

I was… what? This was absolutely insane, I'm no princess, I was raised by a dragon! And my parents… if my parents were king and queen, they would be dead. I _knew_ they couldn't be dead!

"My lady, I am one of your brother's spirits. He was training to be a celestial mage, and I was his first spirit. I have been handed down through generations of your family's princes, becoming advisor to them for hundreds of years. Now I am indebted to you, princess."

"My brother." I echoed.

"Yes, he was training to be a celestial mage. Your brother used me to protect you, for he had been warned by a fortune teller that dragons would one day attack." he told me. Was this guy serious?

"Dragons…" Natsu muttered. I had almost forgotten he was here.

"Unfortunately, a spirit is of no help in battling dragons. When your brother disappeared, I was sent back to the underworld until I got a new owner. I am sorry that I couldn't protect you." he bowed again.

"He disappeared?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. The family disappeared entirely. It was very peculiar. They weren't killed, otherwise I would be punished and stripped of my powers if my master had died. Something must have happened to them to make them completely vanish out of nowhere."

"How is that possible." This was the first time I had spoken for a while. "People don't just vanish."

"I'm not sure. But they are not gone." Akuma answered. It became silent in the room. "Anyways. Are you going to make a contract with me?" he turned to Lucy.

"Oh! Of course. When are you free to be summoned?" She asked him, pulling a leather bound notebook off of her belt. I eyed the keys and the whip hanging at her side, taking note of how each item pulsed with her power.

"I can visit every day." he replied with a nod. "There isn't anything to do in the demon world, so…"

"I understand. I'll call you back soon." She nodded to him before dismissing him. Everyone turned to look at me.

"I am a princess…" I looked down at my hand. I didn't _feel_ like a princess. "What am I supposed to do now?" I looked up at Makarov.

"Join the guild!" Natsu grinned. Lucy glanced over at him, and his smile just widened in response. It was almost contagious. He looked happy and genuine.

"I think that might be a good idea." I felt a warm feeling bubbling up in my chest. Lucy wrapped me in a hug. These people reminded me so much of my dragon with their kindness. I think I found somewhere I could call home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Waking up in the mornings wasn't hard for me. Every morning since I arrived at Fairy Tail, I would wake up, get dressed in almost identical outfits, and put my hair up. I knew most of the people in the guild were not morning people, and they would wait until almost noon to get there. So I resorted to sitting in the corner on my own, researching. I lived in the women's dorms, so I wasn't too far from the guild. This morning when I woke up, though, seemed sort of chilly. It was fine with me. As a water dragon slayer, I was comfortable in all temperatures. My powers weren't restricted by temperatures. In hot weather, I could control steam. In cold weather, I could use a limited amount of ice. Ice was harder to control. It was stiff, but powerful. I knew there was an ice make mage in the guild, but I rarely talked to people other than Natsu or Lucy. Or Happy, but he and Natsu-san went hand in hand. This would be my second week in the guild, and so far I had only gone on three short missions. I was thinking of taking one today, since I needed to buy some clothes more suitable for winter. My outfit that day would have to be a bit more warm than usual, since I could feel the cold moisture in the air. I pulled on a tight black turtleneck, but it still exposed my stomach, which I always liked to leave out to let me see my tattoo. I wore black leggings and black boots with white fur trim. I took a jacket as well, draping it over my shoulders after I tied up my hair. I pulled out the book that I bought most recently, The History of Liah, and headed for Fairy Tail. It was colder than I anticipated outside, and I was grateful that I took my jacket. I quickened my pace, my feet making scuffing noises on the cobblestone pathways. A few people were out, but many people seemed to be staying inside on this cold morning. I heard a slight rumble in the sky, and felt the air heavy with moisture. It would rain. I felt my shoulders relax. The rain was very relaxing and energizing. It was a good cleanse for me. I got to the guild as it started sprinkling. When I went inside, there was only one other person, besides Mirajane. It was the water mage, Juvia. She sat at the bar with a smile on her face, looking up at the roof. She turned her head towards me, and I nodded politely at her before I hung my coat up near the door. It was warm enough inside.

"Good morning Mari-chan!" my eyes widened a bit at the cute honorific.

"Morning Mira-san." I said back.

"Good morning Mari." Juvia smiled.

"Morning Juvia-sama." I looked up to her a bit, since she was such an amazing water mage. She was extremely powerful, and I knew without a doubt someone you wouldn't want as your enemy. I walked past them and went to my usual table in the back corner, near a window. I wanted to see the rivulets of transparent water streaming down the panes. The soft light that managed to filter through the clouds bathed everything in almost an ethereal light. I opened my book and began reading, completely lost in the vivid descriptions and history of Liah. This was my heritage. But the book was a little… dull, you could say, choosing to talk more about the lineage of the royal family more than any events, and I found myself staring out the window more often than not. I was completely zoned out, and I didn't snap back into it until Lucy sat in front of me, freeing me from the rain's spell.

"Mari?" she waved her hand in front of my face.

"Oh, hi Lucy-san." I said.

"I called your name a few times, are you alright?" she looked concerned.

"Ah, yes sorry, I was just watching the rain." I smiled at her and looked back out the window. She let out a small gasp.

"Mari… I think this is the first time I've seen you smile." she grinned at me. I immediately stopped my smile, a blush peeking through on my cheeks.

"Oh, I see. I'm not very… fond of showing emotion." I looked down at my hands, pushing my pointer fingers together.

"No it was cute!" she laughed. I felt my face go redder.

"I'm not cute, I'm mature." I muttered.

"Mari, it's okay to be cute. But you're also mature, yes." she grabbed one of my hands, stopping my fidgeting. I admired her guild mark again. It wasn't foreign to me to see one anymore, since I had mine in black on my stomach next to my other tattoo. Lucy has asked me what it means, but I wasn't able to tell her since I don't know myself.

"Uh, thank you." I nodded at her before looking out the window again.

"This weather stinks." Natsu complained, flopping down in the chair next to Lucy.

"No it doesn't." I retorted quickly, feeling defensive of the rain.

"Well yeah not for you, but for me I feel gross in the rain." he grumbled. I looked back out.

"It's peaceful." A silence followed my words.

"Natsu, my rent is due soon. We should go on a mission tomorrow." Lucy said with a slight whine in her tone, breaking the thick quietness of the guild.

"It's supposed to rain tomorrow too!" he groaned.

"Fine, I'll try to find one with indoor requests." she stood and left Natsu and I alone at the table. I didn't really understand Natsu sometimes. Sure we some stuff in common, but we were two different sides of the same coin. Happy had once described us as day and night. I had agreed. I studied him as he traced the grooves in the table before looking back out the window. He did not seem to want to stay still, at all.

"How does your magic even work?" Natsu broke the silence. Another thing we disagreed on, peace and quiet.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you can control water. So, doesn't like, everything have water in it? Where does it come from?"

"It's almost exactly the same as yours, but I'm much more powerful with a water source." I explained. He blinked for a second.

"Do you know basic fighting skills?" he stretched. I gave a snort.

"You would think that my dragon would let me go off in the world alone without knowing how to spar with enemies?" I felt my eyebrow raise. He shrugged and yawned.

"You seem pretty weird, so I dunno." he gave a wide grin, and it let me know that he was joking. I think. Lucy came back with a paper.

"Natsu, look at this. It's a request to defeat a dark guild a few towns over. The reward is enough to pay my rent for months! Do you think we should ask Gray and Erza to come with?" she questioned.

"Erza's on a mission. But ice-brain could be good help." he nodded. "How bigs the guild?" he squinted at the paper. The rain seemed to put a damper on his personality, because otherwise he and Lucy would be out the door instead of still contemplating.

"I feel like we should get more help, the guild is pretty big… plus they have some strong mages." she frowned. Natsu flicked his eyes up to mine with a grin.

"Wanna come with us and ice-princess on a mission?" he asked. I sat back in my seat for a second. Would it be alright? Lucy looked at me expectantly.

"Yes." I nodded, hoping that this wouldn't end in disaster. Lucy had told me stories, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be witnessing that kind of, well, stupidity firsthand.

"I'll go tell Mira!" Lucy squealed and hopped away.

"Welcome to Team Natsu!" Happy shouted.

"Aye!" Natsu grinned at me. I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth.

"Aye." I repeated softly. Hopefully, I would not regret my decision, and maybe I would make another friend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

It was about time to go to the train station to meet with the rest of the team. I walked to my window, placing my hand on the cool glass. I thought that a bit of brighter weather would be better for the rest of the team's attitude towards the mission. I stared at the clouds, concentrating my gaze on them until they started to dissipate, the sprinkling rain subsiding until the sun gleamed through. My mouth downturned a bit, missing the cool feeling of the moisture in the air, but I figured the good of the team was better than how I felt towards the rain. I pulled my suitcase off of my bed and picked up my small charm bag.

"Put away suitcase." I muttered softly, and the suitcase glowed blue for a moment before going inside the small bag. It looked almost like a coin purse. I strapped it to the garter wrapped around my thigh before leaving. It was even colder today, so I had some white earmuffs on, along with my jacket draped over my shoulders again. My outfit was basically the same as the day before, since I was being mindful of the weather, except for my white turtleneck shirt.

When I walked outside today, I was a bit more prepared for the weather. The shining sun made it a bit warmer than it would have been. I would have preferred the drizzle, though. I walked down the calm streets, knowing that as the day went on it would get more and more hectic. Fairy Hills wasn't far from anything in town, really, so a short while later I was at the train station. I seemed to be the first one there. I stood near a bench, watching the clock. We had fifteen minutes before our train departed.

"Hi." I heard behind me, and I whirled to see the ice mage Gray. I had never spoken to him before, but now was as good of a time as ever to start.

"Hello. I'm Mari." I held out my hand. He tentatively shook it, his long, cold fingers feeling like ice.

"I'm Gray." he replied.

"Are Lucy and Natsu late for every mission?" I looked at the clock again. Seven minutes.

"Not _really_ late, but they like to push the limit." he had a small smirk. I watched the ticking hands in silence. I never really liked to be late. Gray coughed awkwardly. "So, it seemed to clear up."

"Huh?" I glanced around.

"The rain stopped this morning." he gestured at the sky.

"Oh, yes. Better for travel this way, especially with a fire mage." I looked back at the clock. Five minutes.

"So, you did it?" he narrowed his eyes a bit. Not intimidatingly, more like… curiously.

"It will revert back to normal once we depart." I shrugged.

"You seem pretty selfless. Yesterday you looked like you loved the rain. You smiled for the first time in two weeks." he pressed his lips together, creating a line.

"You've been watching me?" I felt my eyebrow go up.

"I- no. You just attract a lot of attention, is all."

"Why?" I frowned.

"You interest everyone." He wasn't making sense. I looked at the clock again.

"Two minutes. Will we have to leave without them?" my thought was cut short as my ears perked up, hearing hurried footsteps making their way through the station.

"Oi! We're here!" Natsu and Lucy were running towards us, their suitcases being dragged behind them. Happy flew above their heads.

"Where's your luggage?" Gray questioned.

"Requip bag." I patted my small charm bag. He nodded and picked up his own suitcase before boarding the train. I followed, then Lucy, Natsu, and finally Happy. We sat in our private cabin space, Lucy and I on one side, Gray and Natsu on the other. As soon as the train started moving, Natsu blanched, his face turning green. I usually would feel queasy, but I had my anti-motion sickness charm hanging around my neck.

"Hm? Mari-chan, you're wearing a necklace, how cute!" Lucy smiled.

"It's not a necklace, it's a charm. It stops my motion sickness." I explained.

"What?! Gimme that." Natsu moaned, lurching towards me. I held him back by his forehead as he swiped his arms.

"Oi flame-brain, leave her alone." Gray rolled his eyes. Natsu's cheeks puffed and I could smell the bile rising in his throat. I winced away, not wanting him to puke on me, and he snatched the charm from my neck, snapping the chain. He let out a sigh as he was relieved of his sickness. I suddenly felt sick.

"You bastard." I gasped, sweat forming on my brow as I buried my head between my knees, gasping in air. I looked back up at the fire dragon slayer with a glare.

"Give it back to her!" Gray smacked his head before grabbing the charm, pulling it from Natsu's hands, but over calculating his force. The necklace slipped from his hands and got sucked out the open window.

"No! Ice-brain, you idiot!" Natsu went green again and flopped on the ground.

"When we get off this train I'm going to kill you." I muttered to Natsu darkly, taking in another deep breath. I didn't seem to have motion sickness nearly as bad as Natsu, but I was still suffering. I spent the entirety of the train ride glaring daggers at him, and he puked a few times as well. The three hour trip was torture. Gray and Lucy had a conversation that I wasn't able to follow, since I was in and out of consciousness. I woke up with my head on Lucy's lap more times than I could count, and it was embarrassing to say the least. At least she didn't hit me, like Gray was doing to Natsu. As soon as the train stopped I sat up straight. "Thank god." I sighed.

"Aye!" Happy cried. I stood and walked off the train, waiting for the others on the platform. Natsu had to be carried out by Happy, Gray looking irritated behind him. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"He takes it the worst of all the dragonslayers I know." she complained. He gave her a wide grin, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"How many do you know?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Well, there's Laxus. He's in Fairy Tail, but I think he's been on a mission since you got here. Then there's Gajeel and Wendy, you've met them I think. And then Sing and Rogue, they're the twin dragonslayers of-"

"Sabertooth. I've met them." I scowled. Lucy blinked.

"They didn't leave much of a good impression, I see." she laughed hesitantly.

"We're friends. We fight, usually they end in draws." I waved her curiosity away.

"I've beat them!" Natsu suddenly perked up, a smile stretched across his face. "Their magic was strong, but I managed to be stronger."

"That's just great." I scowled

"Touchy." Natsu grumbled behind me. I felt a growl form in the back of my throat, but I quickly swallowed my anger and pushed open the door, revealing a bright, sunny landscape in front of me. The town of Chrysanthemum bustled with life, instantly making my mood even worse. I stalked away, hearing their shuffling footsteps behind me. I hadn't even started this mission yet and I was already regretting coming. I didn't work well in groups, why did I think this was okay? I suddenly felt anxious. I glanced behind me, seeing Natsu and Lucy chatting about things in store windows. Gray was looking at me, but as soon as I looked back at him his eyes widened and he turned his face away. I looked in front of me again, we were headed towards a hotel. I walked up to the door and made sure the rest of the group followed me. They had. So I went up to the front desk and dinged the bell. An older woman shuffled from behind a curtain with a smile.

"Yes, how may I help you?" her voice was frail yet sweet, and I felt my expression soften under her gaze.

"Two rooms, please." Gray stepped up beside me, laying down some jewels on the counter. "My treat." he added, with a glance to me.

"Only two?" I questioned.

"Oh, newlyweds?" the old woman winked. "We have a discounted suite, if you'd like. One room with two queen sized beds, the price of one regular room."

"We'll take it." Lucy hastily said, and I slumped my shoulders a bit. So much for alone time. The lady gave us two keys, and I thanked her.

"C'mon Luce, why'd you only get us one room." Natsu groaned.

"It was way cheaper! Plus, it would be nice for us to all stick together. It will probably only be for one night." it had better be, I thought to myself. I followed Natsu and Lucy up a flight of stairs, Gray trailing along beside me.

"This'll be interesting." Gray muttered.

"Oi! Does this mean I have to share a bed with ice-prick over here?!" Natsu shouted. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm sure as hell not sharing a bed with you!" she retorted. Natsu complained even more.

"Be quiet." I snapped. Everyone turned to look at me with a surprised look on their face. "I can go get a room for Lucy and myself and we won't have to listen to you blathering on all night."

"Natsu's just an idiot." Gray smacked the back of his head. "We'll be fine all together like this."

"Sorry, Mari." Natsu muttered and sat down on a bed.

"So, about the dark guild. We know where it is located, but we don't really know how big it is or how to defeat them." I changed the subject to something more useful than arguments.

"Well, I read about it, and apparently it's not a huge guild, only four mages, plus the master. But they've been doing some weird stuff, and cutting down a lot of trees, and the town is getting worried." Lucy answered me.

"Trees?" Natsu asked.

"I think they're building something." Lucy frowned.

"What could they be building?" I wondered aloud.

"Let's just go and investigate." Gray said, setting his bag on the corner of his and Natsu's bed. I nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay here and take a nap." Happy yawned and flew over to the bed, landing face down with a soft plop.

"Cute." I said softly. We headed out after that, walking into the forest on high alert.

"What could they be building." I muttered again. We trekked over huge roots, but the trees thinned out as we continued. Telltale signs of logging were shown. I could smell the sawdust in the air.

"This is so weird." Lucy stepped over a hole. Some trees were completely uprooted, leaving gaping pits. I touched a stump, a little sad. These trees were so old, they had lived for so long, and now they were being destroyed, not even for a good cause. I sighed and continued walking. I felt very uneasy, but I couldn't sense anything. I don't think Natsu could, either.

"Nightmare shadow!" I heard someone shout.

"An ambush!" I ducked quickly, and Natsu and Gray did the same.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted to her.

"Water wall!" I quickly stopped the attack from hitting her, pulling the moisture from the air around her into a shield. She shrieked as the attack slammed against the wall, but the water didn't budge. I sprang to my feet, letting the wall drop as the attack dissipated.

"Show yourself!" Gray shouted, ice crackling between his hands. I scanned the few patches of trees before a man stepped out. He had white hair and black eyes. He had a wicked grin spread over his face, and he was dressed in all black, complete with a cloak.

"Hello, Fairy Tail mages." his grin widened. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'll enjoy your screams." His voice was coated in venom, a shiver forming in my spine. I suppressed it. Showing weakness around this man seemed like a very, very bad idea.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

The dark mage stared at us, mirth present in his eyes. Why he thought the situation was humorous was unknown to me.

"No defiance? Boring. I think I'll kill you all now." he chuckled.

"Have fun trying!" Natsu's voice rang out. He smashed his fists together, flames licking from between his fingers. "Fire dragon's roar!" he shouted, brilliant orange fire spiraling towards the dark mage. But the man smirked and disappeared.

"Shadow magic." I muttered with a scowl, seeing the shadow slithering towards us. He popped back up.

"Dear little Natsu, always rushing into things. And Lucy, calculating your moves, trying to demobilize me. Don't even bother." his eyes narrowed as he threw his hand up, black gobs of shadow shooting towards her. Her eyes widened and she threw her arms in front of her face, not able to summon her spirits in such a short time.

"No!" I dove towards her, a burst of water spraying from my hands and stopping the shadow mage's attack.

"Mari-chan. What an adorable name for such a wicked girl." he set his sights on me, his lecherous gaze raking up and down from neck to foot. "You would make a nice addition to the guild. All that potential… why, such dark thoughts in your past as well. What do you say, water mage? Join us, or perish by your worst nightmare?" if it was possible, his irises got bigger and blacker, almost covering the whites of his eyes. I remained silent.

"Mari." Lucy whispered from behind me.

"No. Of course I wouldn't join your forces. These are my friends, to whom I am loyal." I scowled.

"Shame." the unnamed mage grinned wider yet. "Nightmare." that one word sent a blast of black magic flying towards me. I put my arms up to summon another water wall, but the attack hit me straight in the chest.

"Mari!" Gray yelled.

"I'm fine." I said, and I was. I began to pull moisture from the air, preparing an attack. But nothing would form around my hands. "What…?" I tried again. My feet felt wet. I looked down to see water slowly lapping at my ankles. It formed in a perfect circle around me, but it was rising, as if I were in a tank being filled with water. Nervously, I tried to dispel it, but it wouldn't work. My magic wasn't working. I sucked in a breath, attempting to use it to replenish my magic, but nothing happened. I couldn't even eat it. I looked up at the dark mage who began to cackle.

"Have fun drowning, my dear. Now, who's next?" he swiveled towards Natsu, who was about to attack from behind.

"What did you do to her?!" Natsu roared, his hand engulfed in flames that he used to punch him.

"Don't you understand nightmare magic?" the man recovered from the punch quickly, evading Natsu's next attack and then kicking him away. The water rose to my knees, my feet unable to move.

"Nightmare magic…" Lucy whispered. "Are you Bodus?" she called out to him. He snapped his head towards her.

"Where did you hear that name? I haven't been called that name in years. Call me Night-san." his eyes flashed and he shot an attack at her. She just barely dove out of the way.

"Lucy, do you know how to stop nightmare magic?" Gray sprinted across the clearing towards us, ducking an attack from Night.

"I'll ask Crux, just give me a minute."

"Lucy, hide behind me. He can't do any more damage to me." I said as the water rose to my hips. I was feeling panicked, but I knew that I needed to stay calm in order to get myself out of this mess. I tried using my magic again, to no avail. She nodded and dodged another attack. Natsu was keeping him pretty distracted, though. I'd have to thank him later, once I got out of this mess.

"Open, gate of the cross! Crux!" I heard her shout. "Please help us find out how to stop this!" I wished I could move to see what was happening behind me, but my feet were planted in the ground. Gray was standing beside Lucy with a big hunk of ice in his hands, and he was batting any magical attacks away from us. It was pretty quiet other than the grunts and shouts of the two men in front of us wrestling.

"Uh, Lucy?" I questioned as the water lapped at my shoulders.

"Oh my god, Crux please hurry." I heard her say. It rose steadily still. I was panicking by now, and I had to swallow a shriek.

"Lucy, can't you make him hurry faster?!" Gray smacked a blob of dark magic away from us.

"I'm trying!" she sounded horrified. I took about three more deep breaths before the water covered my face completely. It was silent. I covered my mouth and nose, forcing myself to keep from breathing in the water. I could see a bit, but it was blurry. I saw Gray attacking the orb that was covering me, he looked furious. He continued to beat at the water, but all of his ice creations would shatter against the surprisingly hard exterior. I blinked slowly.

It was really peaceful. I blinked again, harder, trying to dispel the black dots that were forming in my vision. My lungs were screaming for air, but I knew if I breathed in the water it would make things worse. My eyelids were struggling to stay open, and my knees were shaking. I was clenching my jaw shut and holding my nose, trying to stay awake, and also stopping myself for getting a lungful of water. The black dots were completely covering my eyes now, was I even awake? I heard a loud blast before I felt the water splash down from around my body. It happened at the perfect moment, because I felt myself fall face-first into the ground, holding my body up with trembling arms as I gasped for air. I was about three seconds from passing out. I sucked in as much as I could, coughing and sputtering all the while.

"-ri! Mari are you okay?!" I heard Gray shouting. My arms were shaking hard, and I felt angry that I was defeated so easily.

"Dragon force." I muttered before feeling my power burst around me. I threw my head back, basking in the chilly force of the watery magic. I felt my eyes turn into slits, and I turned my narrowed gaze onto Bodus, or "Night-san" as he had requested.

"Natsu, Lucy, Gray. Go ahead, I've got this." I smirked.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked.

"I'll stay here with you. If we work together we can defeat him faster." Gray said to me. I hesitated for a second before nodding.

"Natsu! Come on, let's go get the next one!" Lucy smiled, her relief showing on her face. I wasn't sure if it was because I was alright, or if she got to get away from Bodus, but either way didn't matter to me. Natsu threw one last punch before sprinting over to Lucy, and they ran further towards where the trees thinned out even more.

"Ready?" Gray asked.

"Ready." I cracked my knuckles.

"Unision raid: Ice wave!" Gray shouted.

"Unision raid: dragon's typhoon!" I grabbed his outstretched and and let the power flow through my arm and into my hand, and I felt it collect with his icy cold magic before leaving us in a burst, smashing into Bodus' chest and sending him reeling through the air. He fell to the ground after pinballing around the few standing trees around us, and he didn't get back up.

"We make a good team." Gray grinned at me, my hand still pulsating with the aftershock of dispelling that amount of power.

"I suppose we do." I said distantly, letting the force around me drop and also dropping his hand. "Thank you, for helping me. How did the bubble finally manage to break?" I questioned.

"Crux gave me a spell that I used to pierce it and it burst." he looked off into the distance, a slight frown on his face. "Don't scare us like that again. You're starting to grow on me, even though you're weird." I think he was a little worn out, because he was grinning like a fool.

"Let's catch up to the others and get this over with." I sighed.

"Agreed." he nodded back to me, a small smirk playing on his lips. We ran towards where I could smell Natsu and Lucy engaged in battle. This would be a tough one, I could feel it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six:**

Gray and I ran as fast as we could until we reached the clearing where Natsu and Lucy were. They were faced off against two mages, a man and a woman. Or should I say, a fox and a snake.

"Ah, more bratsss." The snake-woman hissed.

"More cocky bastardssss." Gray mimicked her. Her eyes slitted at him, her serpentine features filled with hatred. She had slicked back black hair, jade green eyes, and a voluptuous bust. Her waist was slim, but instead of having legs, her bottom half was fused together into some sort of scaly tail. It was green with gold adornments on it, reminding me of an evil-looking mermaid. She smirked at us, her thin lips stretching.

"Ssstone attack." she shot a boulder at Lucy, and she quickly dodged.

"Open! Gate of the Ram! Aries!" she summoned Aries, who used her wool attacks to block the stones from hitting her. I curiously eyed the fox man. He grinned cunningly. He had red-orange hair, small ears sticking out of the mop of mussed up waves. He even had a tail. He looked at Natsu again, and his grin widened before he attacked him.

"You guys go ahead, we have it covered here!" Lucy yelled. Their battle seemed to be going well, their opponents landed very few hits and were getting weaker by the second. I nodded at them before Gray and I ran from their battle. We cleared the rest of the trees, and I felt myself gasp and stumble. There was a gigantic wooden structure looming over us, and I slowed to a jog, Gray doing the same.

"What the-" he was cut off by a lone figure standing at the base of the structure.

"I see you found our base." he said, his deep voice rumbling through our bodies. "Too bad that we have to waste such power." he stepped from the shadows, revealing a man with three eyes and a large mouth. He was completely bald, his tongue sticking out at us. "I hope you have good hearing." he yelled before a terrible screech filled my ears. I felt my eyes roll back into my head as I staggered, holding my ears, trying to block the noise. Another wave of the scream started, and I felt blood trickling through my fingers. I squeezed my fingers as hard as I could, trying to block the noise, but I felt Gray pull my hands away.

It was so, so loud, but then it was silent. My head felt cold, but hot. I looked curiously at Gray, and he pulled his hands away from my head. I tenderly felt my ear, and was shocked when I realized he had froze over my ears, so no sound could come through. I could just faintly hear the dark mage's angry roar before I nodded at Gray in thanks, the ice covering his ears as well. I saw him mouth 'Unision Raid' at me, and I eagerly nodded, hoping to get this over with. I could feel myself talking, but I couldn't hear it.

I nervously grabbed for Gray's fingers, pointing our attack at the mage who continued to scream. I felt the power build up in my hand before it left me in a burst, and the attacks swirled around before crashing into the dark mage. The icy swirl of water knocked him out and destroyed the bottom of the tower. It swayed, but held its ground. I felt my ears heat up before the ice melted, and I turned to see Natsu and Lucy grinning at us. The words they were speaking were still faint, and I had the realization that my hearing was badly damaged.

"What?" I could see Lucy''s mouth moving, but I couldn't make out the words. She frowned at me before turning to Natsu. They had a conversation that I could only make out some words of.

"She….Wendy…..fix…...hurt." Gray shook my shoulder and pointed at the tower. I nodded before turning back to Natsu and Lucy.

"We should finish the mission. My hearing will come back soon." I faintly heard my own voice in my ears. I blinked at the soft sound of it. The two nodded at me and I turned to face the tower again. Natsu led us towards it and I tailed them. The prospect of what laid inside was frightening.

…..

By the time we got back to the guild, my hearing had recovered a little bit. I could now hear like a normal human, but my dragon hearing had not come back yet. The giant wooden building loomed in front of us before we came inside. A few cheers sounded, and a couple of people came up to greet the team. I slunk away to a corner before I could get caught up in it. I sat down and looked outside with a sigh. Of the three days we were gone on the mission, the rain had stopped. Now it was sunny and bright outside. I had to squint for a while before my eyes got used to it.

"Mari-chan, Lucy sent me over. Can I help?" I saw the small blue-haired girl called Wendy say.

"Oh, if you would please." I replied, standing up to let her lead me to a back room.

"You'll have to share the infirmary, Laxus came back pretty beat up so he's resting in there."

"Laxus?" I echoed, remembering he was one of the dragon slayers Lucy had told me about.

"Yeah, he's the lightning dragon slayer. I'm not sure how he got so beat up, though. I think he's the most powerful mage in all of Fiore."

"That's insane. There can't be one person stronger than the Wizard Saints." I scoffed a bit.

"Well, he has beat Jura." she made a sound between a laugh and a sigh, and I stiffened. One person…. This powerful? In this guild, no less. This made me nervous. She seemed to notice my silence. "Ah, but don't worry! He wouldn't harm anyone in the guild, unless it was Natsu or something…" her statement ended weakly. I scoffed.

"I can hold my own." I replied smoothly, masking my slight fear.

"O-of course!" She stuttered, and opened the door to the infirmary. "You can sit right on this bed." She rushed around and patted the side of a bed. On the other side of the room was another bed, with a blonde man laid down in it. His eyes were closed, with headphones covering his ears. My eyes widened at the sight of him. He didn't look frightening, but there was no denying his presence. The long scar over his face made my heart ache for him. What had happened? I realized he was awake when I saw one of his fingers tapping to the beat of a song on his large bicep. I scanned the area around him. He looked formidable, even though he wasn't even looking at me. For some reason, I _wanted_ him to look at me. I blinked at my thoughts, giving my head a sharp shake. I sat down where the tiny dragon slayer was waiting, and she placed both of her hands over my ears. Her warm, soft palms muffled her words a bit, but she warned me that her action might be painful. She closed her big brown eyes and tightened her grip on my head, and a green light filled my vision. I felt myself cry out, the pain was much worse than I anticipated, but I quickly muffled myself, pressing my hands to my lips. There was a roaring in my ears, louder than I was comfortable with, and the dull ache in my eardrums spread through my whole body. There were sharp pricking feelings inside my ears, and I wanted nothing more than to claw those feelings out. I barely noticed when she took her hands away, since my eyes were shut tight against the feeling.

"Is she okay?" I heard a low voice ask, the sound coming from directly behind me. I felt myself gasp and sit up straight, embarrassed at my moment of weakness in front of the mysterious man.

"I-I'm perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern, I have to go to the, uh, cobbler. To get my hair done. I mean. The hairdresser to get my shoes done. I-goodbye." I stood abruptly, needing to leave the room. I don't know why, but I could feel my heart beating in my throat. Did this man scare me?

"Wait, don't stand up so suddenly!" Wendy said, reaching to grab me, just in time I guessed, since I was shaking on my feet. My ears were still aching. "Your body has to get used to the sounds again, it's been days! Please, sit down again." She tugged my arm back until I stumbled, the backs of my knees collapsing. I felt my hands shaking, my vision was dilating.

"What happened?' The dragonslayer behind me asked. Wendy gave him a small smile.

"Her hearing was severely damaged on her mission, and I had to heal her eardrums. If she had normal hearing, it would be easy for her to get used to, but since she's a dragonslayer…" Wendy trailed off.

"Dragonslayer?" He echoed.

"The water dragonslayer." I explained.

"Lacrima or first generation?"

"First generation." I still had not turned to face the man.

"Laxus is a lacrima dragonslayer." Wendy said to me.

"I see." My voice was breathy. I still couldn't see straight. "Wendy, do you think I could go home? I don't… feel well." A pathetic whimper fell from my lips. I was barely clinging to consciousness.

"I could take her, where does she live?" I felt Laxus's warm hand place itself on my shoulder. I flinched at his touch, and he reeled his hand away quickly.

"She lives in Fairy Hills, but I think it would be better if she stayed here. I'd rather keep an eye on her closer to town, especially if she needs a doctor." Wendy's voice soothed my nerves. My fingers were still shaking. "I'm going to go find something for her to eat, maybe it will help settle her to focus on her other senses." Wendy left before I could protest being left alone with Laxus. Something about him was killing me, I could not understand what it was, I wouldn't be able to settle until he left. I struggled to pull my legs onto the bed. Sweat beaded on my skin, and my entire body was buzzing.

"Here, I'll help. Do you want to lay down?" He didn't wait for an answer before I felt his hands on my waist, turning me. I could finally see him. His gray eyes sucked in my focus. My pupils were dilating even larger than before, I could tell. He wasn't looking at my face, focusing on holding my shaking knees still. My eyes shamelessly raked over his face, and lingered on the scar. I moved towards the scowl on his face. I felt myself flushing, but my skin felt clammy.

"I-I think I should r-really g-go home." I weakly attempted to push myself up, but he moved his hands to my shoulders and laid me back down.

"Wendy wants you here, so I'm gonna keep you here." He fixed me with a stare that must have scared me, because my bones turned to jelly and I laid completely still.

"Okay." I whispered. The ringing that was in my ears died down, and I could hear my heartbeat again. I heard footsteps outside, so I focused on them. They passed, and I let a sigh escape me. I was hoping it would be Wendy. I glanced up at Laxus again. He was sitting in a chair, his eyes on me, arms crossed. I glanced down at the bandages on his forearms. "Wh-what happened?" I asked. "Does it hurt?"

"Some jackass kicked me off a cliff. It's just a bunch of scratches, nothing too big." I winced at the thought. He survived getting thrown off a cliff? What the hell was this man made of? I didn't reply, and he didn't say anything more. I awkwardly stared at my feet, my toes quivering inside my boots. I wanted Wendy to come back as soon as possible.

"Wendy has been gone a long time. I will go look for her." I swung my legs off the bed quickly, standing and taking a step towards the door. My knees buckled, and the blonde haired man that was on the other side of the room a minute ago caught me and picked me up.

"Why can't you just lay down?" he demanded, almost throwing me back on the bed. "Don't you have any concern for your health?"

"I'm not sick!" I retorted, crossing my arms. He was being stubborn, not letting me try to leave. Not that I probably could anyways, but it was making me mad!

"That doesn't mean that you can just do whatever you want! You have to lay down, when your ears are messed up everything is messed up. Do you want everyone downstairs to have to worry about you?" he was nearly yelling.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked.

"Your nakama or whatever. I can smell firebreath on you, aren't you a part of that group?"

"I only know Lucy, Natsu, and Gray. Why would they worry about me?"

"Why wouldn't they?" he questioned me again.

"I barely know them. Why are _you_ so concerned about me?" I tightened my grip on my elbows, looking defiantly into his eyes. He scrunched up his nose and turned away.

"I don't know! Maybe because you're a dragonslay-" he cut himself off. "Fuck..." he muttered to himself, dropping his head into his hands. His elbows rested on his muscular thighs, drawing my attention to his forearms. How much did this man work out? I didn't think this amount of muscle was necessary, and I was a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't mind it.

"What about me being a dragonslayer?"

"I was wrong, I don't care. I'll go tell Wendy to hurry her scrawny ass up." he quickly stood, and turned completely away from me. I watched his tense form slam open the door, then he left faster than I could protest. Why would I want to protest. He was bothering me. Right?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:**

Three hours later, I had finally gotten out of the infirmary. Wendy fussed over me until she deemed me okay to move, and I walked out of the guild and was greeted by the moon and the stars.

"Beautiful." I murmured, glancing up at the twinkling lights. I began to walk to Fairy Hills. I had the sensation that I was being followed, but I could not see nor hear anyone near me. I stopped and turned around at least a hundred times. I was starting to get a little freaked out. The next time I turned, I caught a glimpse of black going around the corner into an alleyway, and decided to make my move. I crept towards the entrance of the alley, sliding along the wall of the bakery. I heard a slight rustle before a head peeked out, the person looking at where I was just standing before snapping their head towards where I was standing. I halted my steps, my eyes wider than before.

"Laxus?" I questioned, relieved it was him. Wait, why was I relieved? I had just caught him stalking me.

"Uh-you-what are you doing here?" he asked weakly.

"Why are you following me?" I felt my face turn to a scowl.

"I-I'm not." his stutter completely gave him away.

"You are. Now tell me, or I'll force it out of you." I tightened my fists, my pathetic threat hanging in the air between us.

"It's nothing weird, I was just making sure you don't pass out on the way home." he muttered.

"I'm f-fine." my tongue tripped over the words. "I thought you didn't care." I felt a bit petulant around this man. He made me want to tease him, but he didn't really seem to annoy me… A weird feeling started in my chest.

"I do care." he looked down at his feet. "I've gotta go. Bye." he turned away and started a brisk pace, leaving me to admire his silhouette. What the hell was wrong with him? He was supposed to be this big, scary brute, but he really seemed nice and thoughtful. I turned away once his figure disappeared. I got to my room without passing out or getting a dizzy spell.

I took down my hair and brushed through it, then changed into some pajamas and cleaned my room a bit. I looked out my window at the stars again, but in my peripheral view I could have sworn I saw a flash of light. I stared at where I thought it was, but I must have just been paranoid. Maybe a storm was off in the distance? No, I thought, I would know if there was one nearby. I closed the white gauzy curtains and crawled into my bed. I felt overly-sensitive, like there was someone outside my window. But I forced myself to close my eyes and ignore the feeling. It didn't feel menacing, it was... comforting. As I drifted off, I thought I saw a flash again.

…..

"Mari!" Lucy called as soon as I walked into the guild hall the a few days later. "I need to talk to you!" I made my way over to the table she was at. The card mage, Cana was sitting with her.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"Well, Cana actually…" she was interrupted by the brunette mage.

"It's about the cards." Cana gestured to the deck. "This morning, as I usually do, I drew a few cards to see how the day would turn out and… Just let me show you." her hands skillfully cut the deck, and she shuffled them before separating them into three piles. "Take the first three cards and put them face up." she told me, so I went along with it. This silly game was a little boring to me, and I didn't understand why she was having me do it. "There, see? These cards read for trouble. The dragon, the water-bearer, and the ace of wands. The dragon shows there is a great force, the water-bearer has something to do with either you or Juvia, and the ace of wands… it reads for danger and uncertainty. I just - I don't understand what they're trying to tell me." she finished her words with a frustrated tone, my jaw going slack.

"Does this have something to do with…" I finished the thought in my head. Laxus wouldn't cause danger, would he? Before my thought could finish, a cup crashed to the ground as the floor began to shake. The few mages in the guild stood to their feet, and fleetingly I saw Laxus appear on the second floor. The tremors were not coming from him. I turned to the doors as they swung open, the rumbling stopping.

"Fairy Tail mages. Turn over the Princess." a man called out. One of his eyes was an intense gold, but the other was covered with an eyepatch. He had weathered skin and a scraggly beard, and even had a peg leg. Pirates still existed?

"Are you talking about Lucy? We've been over that the Heartfilia's aren't royalty!" someone called out. Confusion spread through the room.

"Not the Celestial mage. The female dragonslayer. Mari Liah. She is the Princess of the Liah kingdom." my fists clenched at his words. I was not. The Liah kingdom was gone.

"The Liah kingdom was destroyed." I heard someone call from above. The guild turned to look at Laxus, towering over us all, giving off a feeling of authority. He had a dark look in his eyes. "I suggest you take your nonsense story somewhere else. There is no girl of that name here."

"I call bullshit." another person appeared in the doorway. A woman with the same gold eyes and scraggly black hair stepped around the first man. "I can smell her, I can see her. She is coming with us." in a flash, another person entered the guild. They flitted through the building before I could react. Suddenly, my arms were being held in a tight grip.

"Mari!" Lucy attempted to push the person away, but was thrown back by a swift kick to the side.

"Lucy!" I gasped back, wrenching my arms. The mystery attacker behind me held their grip easily. "Let me go!" I demanded, attempting to pull myself from their hands.

"She's coming with us." the woman in the doorway repeated with a smirk before stalking out.

"Fire dragon's roar!" I heard, then saw flames flying from Natsu's mouth and at the two people in the doorway. The man was knocked to the ground, but the woman managed to dodge.

"You.. would dare raise a hand at the King of Liah?!" she screeched, rushing to help him up. "Gordon, let's go!" Gordon, I assumed, began to march me from the building. I thrashed around before realizing my best bet was to liquify and escape, but Laxus stepped in before I could do anything.

"Let her go." he was suddenly in front of us, addressing Gordon.

"You do not have a say in the matter." the person behind me spoke.

"I think I do. As the master of this guild is not here at the moment, I am assuming his duties. And I say she isn't going with you." he almost snarled.

"I think that I have more of a say than either of you. And I think you should let me go." I wrenched my arms again, successfully breaking his hold. I turned to face the man who was trying to capture me. He had black hair and gold eyes, a wicked grin gleaming on his face.

"Get outta here." Laxus grumbled. I shot him a look before shooting a stream of water into Gordon's face, his gargling sound was music to my ears. I let up on the water and he stumbled forward a bit, so I gave him a good kick in the gut. Suddenly, Lucy's spirit Virgo was behind him, some magic-cancelling cuffs securing his wrists behind his back. I noticed the two people that accompanied him had been captured as well.

"I'll take them to the holding room for questioning." Virgo drilled a hole into the floor of the guild and tossed the three into it. _That's one way of taking care of them_ I thought as she produced an iron grate out of nowhere and placed it over her "cell".

"We should wait until Master gets back before we do anything." Erza spoke to the whole guild, her hands on her hips. She gave off an intimidating aura. There were a few murmurs of agreement before a few people shuffled out. Some complained about the ruckus so early, and I felt quite embarrassed about it.

"Princess, I will go back to the spirit world now. Shall I get punishment next time?" I heard Virgo ask Lucy. I tuned out their conversation and turned to Laxus, who was scowling down at the grate.

"Thank you for your help." I told him with a slight bow.

"You're one of the Fairy Tail mages, letting you get taken away would look bad for us." he gruffly turned away. My face continued to be impassive, but I felt a tightening in my chest. I did not really feel angry, I just was hurt that he brushed me off.

"Understandable." I frowned, and he started walking away. I looked down at the grate and saw the three people grinning lecherously at me.

"Mari-chan, could you come here a minute?" I saw the blue-haired script mage motion me over to the back corner. I followed her to a table where Lucy, Cana, Natsu, the black haired mage with piercings, and Gray sat.

"Hey Mari, we wanted to talk to you about… uh, those people." Lucy said in a low voice.

"I do not know them." I shook my head, taking a seat next to Natsu and Happy.

"Well, Lu-chan and I think we figured out something. See, since you've joined the guild, I've been researching the fall of Liah." Levy cut in.

"Yeah? What's that have to do with mermaid-wannabe over here?" the man with piercings drawled, leaning back with his arm resting on the chair behind Levy.

"She's the next in line for the throne." Lucy explained. He squinted at me.

"Doesn't look much like a princess."

"To be fair, I didn't know I was a princess until Lucy told me." I shot back, feeling a bit irritated with his attitude.

"Gajeel, just let me finish." Levy sighed at him. I squinted at him this time, letting myself smell his aroma. That hint of dragon that was buried underneath all the tang of metal was hard to distinguish. _This_ was the third dragon slayer of Fairy Tail? I felt my face show my disdain. What a rude man.

"Go on then, shrimp." he grunted.

"So, I was wondering what had happened to the rest of the royal family. I did a lot of research and went through the archives of the royal library - well, what hadn't been incinerated, and I found out that there was a lot of... unrest going on. Before the fire had started. Do you remember anything from your childhood?" she asked me.

"The first thing I remember was being woken up by my dragon." I leaned forward a bit. "Why, what was going on?" I asked.

"Well apparently, your father was making deals with Acnologia." I sat up quickly at her blunt announcement. "Zeref and Acnologia were both helping your father to get eternal life. He didn't want to hand off the throne, so the night that Liah was destroyed was the night that the magic transfusion was going to take place. Zeref was planning to transfer his life into your father's body, along with your mother and your brother. They planned to give you eternal life, on your eighteenth birthday.

Unfortunately… The transfusion failed. The lacrimas were filled with a form of dark magic, and once they were placed inside your family's bodies, they turned them evil. The magic did not give them magic powers, instead it made them go insane. There isn't much record on how long they will survive, since they were supposed to immortalize them, but taking out the lacrimas would kill them.

Lucy and I talked and… Well, we think that the three people who came here are your family. The king, queen, and prince of Liah. And they've come to take you back for your eighteenth birthday. It's supposed to take place in one week." She finished. I felt my mind fill with things to say, but when I opened my mouth nothing would come out.

"That's - it can't be - My _family_?" I stuttered.

"It's just a theory. All the numbers add up, your age is right, they know about the magic spells. The only thing that looks wrong is their appearances. The dark magic altered their appearances. Their once silver hair is black and their blue eyes are now gold. They are willing to take down everybody to get you to be one of them, Mari." Lucy grabbed my hand and I saw fear in her eyes. "This is what was said in Cana's cards, I can feel it."

"I think you guys are right." Laxus appeared behind me. I jumped a bit, but relaxed when he put his hand on my shoulder. "When gramps gets back we'll all talk to him about this. He should be back in a few days, but I think Mari should be on watch at all times in case there's more crazies wanting her. The magic in their lacrimas is powerful enough to infect people around them. I can feel its pull." he lightly squeezed my shoulder.

"Laxus, you should stay with her. You're the most powerful out of all of us, and those cards don't spell anything good coming out of this." Cana sounded tired. She was nervously shuffling the deck with one hand, the other keeping a steady stream of wine glugging from the barrel into her mouth.

"Alright. Go pack a bag, I'll meet you back here. Lucy, could we maybe do a disguise? I don't want her in the guild with these things. If what Levy said is true, they won't stop until they get her. I'm going to take her out of town for a few days."

"Days?!" I stood. Laxus nervously looked at the grate before swiftly grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the guild.

"Meet us at Fairy Hills!" he shouted to Lucy. "They can hear us in their. Come on." he pulled me in the direction of Fairy Hills.

"I don't understand why _you're_ taking me." I growled out. Geez, there was that childish tone in my voice again.

"Can't you just understand that I want to protect you?" his gravelly voice stopped my feet, and he was forced to tug my arm again.

"Why does it matter what the guild would look like if I got taken by my own family?" I asked.

"Ugh, just shut it." he grumbled.

"No, I'm being taken by a stranger for a reason I can't understand, I think I have the right to know!" I felt the defiance show on my usually inexpressive face, and he paused to think.

"We're both dragon slayers. That's rare enough in its own way, but you're a female. That's even more rare. And my dragon inside me is saying that I need to protect you. I feel like if you get hurt or some shit I'll feel really bad. So you need to shut it and let me help you." he ran a hand through his already messy hair. With his wild eyes and staticky hair, he looked like he stuck his finger into an outlet.

"Is this about mating?" I asked. His face flushed red and his eyes got wide, and I'm sure my expression matched.

"What the hell! _Mating_?!" he shouted.

 **I am the worst at updating.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

"Dragon slayers usually pick a mate. Since you never had a dragon, I doubt you were taught about it, but wanting to protect someone without reason means they're probably your mate. Do you think…. _I'm_ your mate?" I saw his eyes squint at me.

"The hell… a _mate_ … I've done it with plenty of girls, why would I suddenly want to mate with _you_?" he raked his eyes up and down my body, and I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling my irritation spike. I continued to try and keep my face emotionless.

"You don't choose your mate. It just happens. It's dangerous to not bond with your mate once you've found them, but if they aren't really your mate it can harm both people." I explained.

"That sounds stupid, what the hell's the point of a mate?!"

"Part of the dragon genes we have." I shrugged.

"Ugh! Let's just get all your shit packed." he turned so swiftly away from me that his jacket snapped like a cape behind him. He started walking, his powerful legs propelling him quickly through the town. I trailed slightly behind him, making sure to keep up. I didn't understand why he was so upset about having a mate. I knew from a young age that I would have one, but female dragonslayers were more complicated than males. I would find out who my mate was in the spring, which would be in a few months. It was something about dragons reproducing in the spring. I was young when my dragon Aqua explained it, so I did not remember everything she had said on the subject.

The crowds thinned as we neared the residential area of Magnolia. I could see the gate of Fairy Hills as we approached.

"Laxus, I'm not sure you are allowed in the girls dorms." I called ahead to the blonde dragonslayer. His shoulders hunched and his steps faltered for a split second before he answered.

"I'm the master's grandson, I'm allowed inside during a crisis like this." his words were true, during a crisis I'm sure males were allowed. But this hardly was one.

"This isn't a crisis, Laxus." I walked faster so I wouldn't have to call out to him.

"Says who?" He whirled around and stopped in front of the gate. The world seemed to stop as a flash of lightning zapped the sign above the gate. "I'm looking out for your life. We have no idea what those people are capable of, or what their numbers are. They could be part of a dark guild for all we know! This wouldn't be the first time. I know what I'm doing, so you just need to go along with it." the scowl never left his face the entire time he talked.

"I can take care of myself, you know."

"Well, it makes me feel better to be in control." The look in Laxus' eyes softened, and I felt a warmth fill my body at the kindness I saw in his face. "This is me repenting for all the bad that I have done. Please, just let me." his voice melted my defiance. I don't know how he did it to me, but now even if I wanted to say no, I couldn't. He was not a bad person, I could tell that from the short time I knew him. I wanted to know more about him, and maybe this short "trip" would be as good a time as any.

"Alright." my answer was not nearly as sure as his words were, but I think that he got that I meant it.

"Good. Now shut up about all this mating crap, alright? I do _not_ mate." he turned back around and stalked inside the building. I followed him up to my room. Wait, how did he…?

"How do you know which room is mine?" I asked as he opened the door to it. His hand hesitated on the doorknob for a moment.

"I can smell your scent." he avoided looking at me as he stepped inside. Solid sounding footsteps thudded down on my floor as he walked to the middle of my room. He pointed at my dresser. "Pack a lot, I don't know how long we'll be out for. But you might as well bring a bunch of stuff just in case." he shrugged. I huffed, a bit miffed as I picked up my little charm bag and began to put shirts in. I packed a few different interchangeable pairs of shirts and pants, and an extra pair of shoes. I glanced over at the lightning dragonslayer. He was looking around on top of my nightstand, and he picked up a few hairbands before flicking them back down onto the surface. He lightly traced his fingers over the embossed letters on a book before he jerked open the drawer.

"What are you looking for?" I called from the other side of the room. He jumped a bit, and quickly shut the drawer.

"Nothing. Just snooping." he turned away again. He crossed his arms and stared out the window. I watched him for a few more seconds, then decided to finish packing. I went into the bathroom to grab toiletries, then I went back and got some socks and underwear. I patted the small bag softly before strapping it around my leg. It felt warm from all the use.

"I'm done." I approached Laxus from behind.

"Good. Now I need to go grab some clothes from my place. Would you wanna come with?" he spun to face me.

"I didn't think you would let me out of your sight." I felt one of my pale eyebrows arch up at his question.

"It was rhetorical." he waved away my statement before he walked back over to the door. His black boots made more loud footsteps. I kind of liked the sound. "Come on, shorty." Laxus waved me over.

"Did you just call me shorty?" both my eyebrows raised this time.

"Maybe." I could hear the smirk in his voice. He turned back to me for a quick second before he opened the door and walked out. I stood there for a minute or two, but then I realized he had actually left me behind.

"Wait!" I called as I jogged out the door. I turned and saw him leaning against the wall, the smirk still present. He had a nice smile. "Oh. I thought you had left me here."

"Nope. Was waiting for your ass the whole time." he shrugged again. He did that a lot.

"Then, let's go."

"Lead the way, shorty."

"It's your house…"

"Oh. Right."

….

Laxus' home was extremely nice. It was a two story townhouse, the outside all gray stone. A tile paved walkway led from the black wrought iron fence to the deep gray door. The yard was neatly trimmed, and cone-shaped hedges framed the corners. All of the windows had white curtains, preventing any snooping eyes from seeing in. Laxus strode purposefully through the gate, and gently swung it shut behind me. He led me to the front door before producing a key from his pocket. He opened the door, but motioned for me to go inside first. I hesitantly stepped into a modern foyer, almost a hallway but too grand to be called one. Smooth white paint had no trace of photo frames or any decorations. Two black end tables sat next to two open doorways, one to the left and one to the right. The hall opened in the back to reveal a room with glass sliding doors leading to the outside. Laxus stepped past me and headed for the room with the glass doors. I followed him, and noticed that the sliding doors led to a patio as we went into a living room. A black leather couch and armchair sat in front of a fireplace, and on the opposite wall from that was a spiral staircase.

"You can wait here, I'll just be upstairs." he gestured to the armchair before turning swiftly, flicking his jacket off. It fluttered over a coat rack before the blonde disappeared up the stairs. I turned away from the staircase and focused on the room again. The walls kept the solid white hue from the hallway, but there were a few frames on the walls in here. They were all flyers from jobs that Laxus's team must have excelled at. I decided to skip reading them and continued my perusal. Along the back of the leather couch was a long table, holding a small dish filled with random trinkets, and there was a coffee mug and sorcerer magazine that looked new. Maybe he got them delivered. I walked past that and saw an expensive looking lacrima attached to the wall. It must have been a television. Underneath it was a bookshelf that held a lot of old books, leather-bound and nearly falling apart. I scanned the titles, and almost all of them had to do with dragon lore. I recognized a few titles, having read them when I began to search for my dragon. Next to the bookshelf was the glass sliding doors, and on the other side of those I was back to the staircase. I sighed and sat down in the armchair, hearing a clock ticking somewhere in the house. The faint sounds of Laxus packing could also be heard, but other than that the entire house was silent. Outside, the sun was high and bright. My stomach growled softly, and I realized it must have been almost lunchtime. It was around ten minutes before Laxus came down the stairs again, a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Without his coat on, it was easy to see his muscular arms, straining slightly from the weight of the bag.

"Should we eat before we leave?" I asked him as he came to stand in front of me. I stood in an attempt match his height, but my plan failed. A groan erupted from my stomach, and I felt my face get warm.

"Well, if you're hungry." he cracked a grin at me. "I know a good, fast place. It's just down the street. After that, I want to go shopping to get some food for the trip." he leaned over to grab his jacket, not moving from in front of me.

"That's fine with me." I said.

"Alright, let's go." he turned and pulled me by my wrist towards the door.

"Laxus." I stopped him again.

"Yes? What is it?" His eyes searched mine.

"Are you sure you're okay with all this? I mean, doing this for me?" I asked, looking down at my feet. I couldn't bear to see if there was any hesitance in his eyes. I was stuck to him before I knew it.

"Absolutely. Now, let's fill you up before we leave. Can't have my little shorty starving to death."

"We need to have a talk about that nickname." I all but growled at him.

"It's cute and it suits you. There, we talked about it."

"Note to self: make up a stupid nickname for Laxus." I said dryly. Laxus barked out a laugh.

"Finally, she shows a sense of humor! Come on, princess." he all but dragged me out the door.

" _Princess?"_

"If the shoe fits."


End file.
